We'll See...

I thought this would be a quiet week, and it generally was, but some things worthy of this account did happen.  First, I went to the monthly Cobra Club breakfast on Sunday.  Although it was too cold for anyone to drive a convertible, there were about 20 people there.   I picked up my fuel tank as promised.  One guy just got his car back from the painter after having spent 2 years building!  They all said that's typical.  When I said I expected to be done by next summer, including building an engine from scratch, they all laughed.  We'll see, won't we...

Next, I'm sure you all remember that I'm supposed to get my frame and suspension parts back from the powder coater this week.  Hasn't happened yet.  I'm going to call them tomorrow and fully expect to hear that they've been too busy to get to it.  Although I'd prefer to have my stuff sitting in my garage over Christmas, I'm not going to be doing any work until after New Year anyway.  We'll see what he says...

One of the club members came over yesterday morning to use my workshop.  I can't go too much into the details because I'm sworn to secrecy, but it's called Secret Project X (original, huh).  While he was over, he helped me with my design for a hydraulic clutch.  We'll see if it works...

Finally, I have been building a parts list (mostly bigger ticket items) that I'll need to get over the next month or so to keep things moving.  I had hoped that in January, some of my preferred suppliers would have some kind of sale and then I'd pull the trigger.  Well, I found a 15%-off promotion code from one of the suppliers tonight.  I entered an order, entered the code, it registered 15% off (a few hundred $$$) so it hit "Submit".  We'll see if they cancel it on me...

I have a feeling this is the way I'll drift into the end of the year.  But it's okay with me.  I'm happy to spend so much time with Laurie and the kids.  Although I think they feel the same way, Ben may not be so sure since I put old Chinese food containers in his bed today that he failed to clean-up last night.  We'll see what happens when he finds them...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All

Brief Update

Not much has been happening over the last few days as I wait for the frame to come back from powder coating.  I did go to the shop yesterday to see how things were going with the painting and to drop off the rear spindles so they could get the blue paint along with the rest.  They haven't really done much yet since my job is relatively small in comparison to their normal projects.  I hope it will still be done next week.

While I was there I spoke with Bill (the head guy) about fabricating some parts for me.  They're small parts that will help me move the rear brake calipers allowing for larger brakes, but they have to be cut out of 1/4" steel plate.  Somewhat to my surprise, he said he would do it.  All I have to do is give him a drawing and the measurements.  This is great because the only other alternative I found was to buy some brackets from a guy in California for $150 (plus shipping)!!  Now I'm wondering what else he can make for me so I don't have to scrounge around as much.

I really need to get to work on the engine design.  I've been dragging my feet since I decided I wouldn't start the engine work until after the holidays. 

I've also been trying to mentally go through all the building steps so I can see where I'm next going to get stuck as I actually start to build.  I'll be able to assemble the front end and then will get stuck on the brakes (I have none picked out yet).  I can start assembling the rear end, but need brakes there too and the rear differential (I'm still talking to Victor and Diane about getting one from them).  I can do the steering.  I hope to get my fuel tank tomorrow at the monthly Cobra owners breakfast so I'll be able to start the fuel system, but I still need to decide on a fuel pump.  I need to fabricate a heater so I can install the firewall and dash.  And I have to finish fabricating all the aluminum panels that will form the engine compartment and have those painted.  I'm wondering if I can start running fuel and brake lines, but I'll probably have to wait until I have the missing brake and fuel components.

Lots to do, but I think it will start to come together quickly.  I expect I won't really do any construction until after the holidays when I can spend long hours in an unheated garage as the outside temperatures hover around 20 degrees.  Maybe my timing wasn't the best, but I still can't wait!!

Death of a Mechanic

It's been awhile since I've posted.  I was away last weekend and got to see Katie do a great show with her a cappella group.  Go to her facebook page to see some videos.

Over the last couple days, I've been prepping the rear spindles I got from Victor and Diane in Florida.  I removed the dust shields and old bushings (which was much harder than I thought it would be).  I also cleaned off all the old grime so they could be painted.  The hubs needed to be changed since they are the wrong size for the wheels I got, and I figured I'd replaced the bearings while I'm at it since they could have a lot of miles on them.  The hubs and bearings are supposed to be pressed out, but I thought I could probably do it with a mallet.  I was wrong and the bruise I have on my finger from hitting it with the hammer is proof.  This is what they looked like after I did what I could.

The rusty parts are what needs to be removed.  I found an automotive machine shop about 20 minutes away and called them to see if they had a large hydraulic press.  Fortunately, they did.  I spoke with the owner, George, and he said to come right over.  I wasn't sure what to expect since he said it was a one-man operation.

When I got there, I found a house with a 1 1/2 car garage.  That was George's shop.  As promised, he was in there by himself, seemingly not doing any work.  His first question was how I found him because he mostly works with other mechanics (using the internet, of course).  He told me how he has mechanics who contact him from all over to send him work.  Anyway, I described what I wanted done and we went over to his press.  He set up the first unit and started applying pressure.  And then more pressure.  And more.  Finally up to about 6000 pounds.  Nothing moved.  So then he started hitting it with a hammer and the pressure spiked up to 8000 pounds.  Still nothing.  Before something broke, we decided to try the other unit.  Same process and it looked like the same result.  I started thinking that my great $60 deal on these things wouldn't be a great deal if I couldn't get them apart.  Then suddenly -- BANG -- the hub released and all the pressure shot through the unit at once.  It was like a crack of thunder and I hadn't thought to bring an extra pair of pants.  But it was out.  Now we knew it was possible to get these things apart so we went back to the first unit.  Again, George cranked up the pressure and started whacking it with the hammer.  Pretty soon, BANG again, and the second one was apart.  Now he had to press out the bearings.  We both hoped this would be easier, but as he turned up the pressure even higher than before, nothing happened.  This time, he decided to heat the exterior ring so it would expand and hopefully allow the bearing to release.  Alternatively, the whole unit might crack and then would be worthless.  He's heating and heating.  Will it work or will it be ruined?  BANG, and out comes the bearing.  George follows the same process with the other unit and is successful.  Having access to people with years of experience is so valuable.  I'm sure George will be a good contact to have.

Here's what they look like after I got the parts back home.  the silver parts will go to the painter tomorrow.  The other parts will be replaced with new pieces.

With everything done, I started talking to George as he meticulously cleaned his tools and returned them to their homes.  He'd run this small shop out of his garage for nearly 20 years, but over the last couple years, he's had less and less work.  Partly, it's the economy and partly, it's the effects of automotive evolution.  People just don't have their engines rebuilt any more.  They get another car.  When you think about it, cars have become a massive disposable item.  George knows this, but he's too set in his ways to do anything else.  He can no longer compete with large, automated shops in lower cost regions.  So he sits there most days, hoping the phone will ring.  His shop is called G&L so I asked him what the "L" stands for.  "Lovely Linda" he said.  She passed away four years ago. 

I asked George how much I owed him, not knowing what to expect since the whole project took well over an hour.  He asked me if I was coming back, but I wasn't sure whether he meant to visit or to bring more work.  It didn't really matter because I just said, "yes".  $45 he said.  I shook his hand, paid him and closed the door behind me leaving George just as I had found him.

Here We Go!

When I checked the weather report yesterday, it showed cold but sunny for today.  With that forecast, I decided last night that today would be the day I bring the frame to the powder coating shop.  I would have to get the frame back onto the trailer and haul it to the shop.  It wasn't to hard to get the frame off the trailer when I brought it home since it just rolled down the ramps, but I was really concerned about how I was going to get it back up the ramps.  After all, this thing weighs about 600 lbs and even though it's on a dolly, I imagined it would take at least three people to push it up the ramps onto the trailer.  So I made a plan.  I'd have Laurie, Ben and Chris push from the back and I'd make a winch and pull from the front.  I hoped that would do it.  The only problem was that the boys had to go to school at 7am!  OK, they didn't know it, but I was going to get them all up early to help.  I was quite sure they'd be anxious to go outside in the dark at 6:30am during 30 degree temperatures to put their hands on ice cold metal and push my frame.  After all, what an exciting step this would be!

I got up at 6am and went outside to hook up the trailer to the car.  The trailer had been covered with a tarp, so I knocked the ice off, unstuck my fingers from the metal and got it all connected.  By now, it's already 6:30am and I knew there wouldn't be enough time for them to help.  Boy, are they lucky and they didn't even know what they got out of.  Maybe just Laurie and I can get the frame up on the trailer.  We'll see later.

As it turned out, Ben was sick today and didn't go to school.  I wondered for more than a few minutes whether I should have him help.  I heard somewhere that cold air is good for a cold (or was that fluids?).  I thought I'd get as much ready as I could and then have my helpers (whoever they would be) just come and push for a couple minutes.  After that, I could take care of the rest.

I rolled the frame out of the garage and lined it up with the ramps.  Standing behind it, I thought, "let me just give it a push to see how hard this is really going to be".  I pushed, and to my amazement, the dolly started going right up.  Then I thought, "should I keep pushing?  What if I get it halfway up and then it gets really hard -- the whole thing will come back down and run me over.  How would that look to get run over by your own car, especially one that doesn't even have an engine."  So what did I do?  Kept pushing, of course.  To my further amazement, I pushed it right up the ramps and onto the trailer by myself.  It wasn't even hard. [WARNING: Physics lesson follows.  If you aren't interested, just look at the pictures below.  It turns out that I had created a very effective mechanical advantage with the ramps.  They were 8 feet long and the trailer is 2 feet high.  That gives a 4x mechanical advantage.  Therefore, I could move a 600 lb object with 150 lbs of force.  Since I weigh a little over 150 lbs, all I had to do was lean on the frame an up it went.  Now I can see how they built the pyramids (along with 10,000 slaves, of course)]

I took the dolly out (I won't go into details), strapped everything down and off I went.  It took me awhile to find the place, but it was an impressive metal fabrication shop.  They guys were all very interested in my project and I felt like they would do a good job.  I described the colors I wanted and the owner quickly got the feel of what I was looking for.  We went into the design room and there was a wall of paint chips.  He zeroed-in on a cool looking silver with black flecks for the frame, a cobalt blue for the suspension and a low-sheen black pearl for the aluminum panels.  Now both Laurie and I can have matching black pearls!

In all the excitement of this, I did manage to get one picture of the frame being carried by forklift into the shop.

It's all supposed to be done in about 1 1/2 weeks, just in time for Christmas.

When I got home, I found my rear hubs had been delivered from Victor and Diane.  They look good, but will need to be modified to fit the brakes and wheels I've selected.  More on that another day.

Back on Track

Wow, how quickly time flies!  I can't believe it's been a week since my last post.  For all of you who were sitting on the edge of your seat, sorry?  Anyway, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Laurie's family.  Great food and time together.  By Friday, Laurie's mother noticed I was getting a little antsy so she gave me a few things to fix around the house and that made me feel better.

While we were up there, I did pick-up the fuel tank tray I had purchased through eBay.  It made a great suitcase storage box in the back of our car.  I also got some time to continue researching brakes.  I thought I had it figured out and then I saw a small reference that the brakes may not fit behind the wheels I ordered.  So now my plan is to wait a little while until my wheels get delivered and then I'll order the brake parts.  That way I can check the fit and return the parts if they don't work.

Another thing I focused on was the steering geometry.  I had a feeling it wouldn't work quite right with the parts I had.  So yesterday, I searched around the junkyards and found new spindles that have a slightly different angle that I think will work better.

When I when to pick them up, this is what they looked like.

They literally ripped the whole piece out of the car for me, brakes and all.  Somewhere in those piles of rust are the parts I need.  As an aside, I may be able to sell the brakes to someone else (in case anyone asks why I don't just use them on my car, they're too small, ha-ha).  I tore into it and got the parts separated.  Here they are ready to go.

I also had to modify them a little so they will fit the brakes I hope to get.

Here is a comparison between the old spindle (left) and the new one (right).  You can see that although they look similar, the new one's left arm is bent up.  I hope this helps the steering profile.

I got an email from Diane in Florida that she sent my rear hubs and they should be here tomorrow.  Victor had to spend Thanksgiving in the hospital having his third surgery on a broken leg!

And I found a different painter for the frame.  They're in Rockaway and I'm bringing everything there tomorrow to get that started.  Should take about 4-5 days and then I'm building.  Ya-hoo!!!

What, More Math?

I have tried several times to get in touch with the powder coating shop to bring the frame and other parts over for painting.  No luck.  Maybe they started Thanksgiving early and they are all sleeping in front of the TV with triptophan poisoning.  Anyway, I thought today would be a slow day since there isn't anything I can do on the car right now.  I was wrong...

I decided to start researching the next area I've been avoiding, mostly because there are too many options and too many opinions -- Brakes!  Yes, I know they're not optional, but I never expected so many varying opinions on how best to stop a car (I won't even get into it).  OK, maybe just for a moment.  We all know that you push the pedal and the car stops.  Easy, right?  Well, apparently a lot of science goes into actually making the brakes do their job well.  I knew that I wanted manual brakes (as opposed to power-assisted brakes which just about all cars have today.)  I thought that would make the whole design simpler.  Well, sort of.  You see, without the power of the engine to help apply pressure to the brakes, it has to be designed more carefully so a normal mortal's leg can supply enough power.  Back in the old days, all cars had non-power brakes and they worked well enough.  But most of those parts aren't around anymore so I have to do actual math to calculate even more things I won't even get into.  Suffice it to say that after working on it for 4 hours, I didn't make much progress other than deciding I have to chop and reweld my brake pedal to change the leverage it applies (good thing I still have the welder!).  Besides that, all I have is lots of notes and ideas.  The whole morning almost felt like real work.  The only difference is that at work, we'd have 8 people sitting around accomplishing nothing.  (just kidding...)

It's now mid-afternoon and here comes UPS for their daily delivery.  What is it today?  A big box!!  A-ha, my steering rack.  Beautiful chrome.  What, where are the bushings?  Those are the thingies that keep the metal parts separated so they don't rub against each other.  Let me look it up.  What, there are different kinds?  How do I know what I need?  Why couldn't they just send some and I wouldn't have to make another decision.  OK, how hard can it be?  They're just rubber donuts.  It turns out that I've just entered another room in the Twilight Zone -- steering geometry.  Is it possible that I'm going to spend the whole day doing math?  It appears so.

The steering rack is the rubber accordion with the bolt coming out of it.  Somehow it needs to pivot on the same axis as the black part below it.  If not, the direction of the tires will change as the car hits bumps (and that doesn't sound good).  More work for another day...

When I dreamed up this project, I thought it would be just like those plastic model cars kids build, only bigger and with metal parts.

 I underestimated.  Boy, do I have a long way to go...

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Just Like Archimedes Always Says

Before I get to my old Greek friend, I spent some more time today fitting the pedals.

My secret helper

 I finished welding the pedal stops and a place to rest my left foot when I'm not shifting.  The pedal arms will still need to be bent about 1.5" to the left to fit the gas pedal.  Put that on the "to-do" list.

The now the frame and the suspension components are ready to go for paint.  Well, almost.

I had purchased used front spindles and decided to replace the bearings before installing them on the car.  The originals probably had at least 100,000 miles on them and I didn't want to have any problems later on.

Spindles after some initial cleaning

I popped off the dust cover in the center and found the nut holding the hub to the spindle.

That's a large 36mm socket on the biggest wrench I have.  Here goes -- lots of grunts, but the nut won't budge.  I checked the specs and it was tightened to 258 ft. lbs. (that's a lot!!).  Here's where Archimedes comes in.  He is believed to have said that with a large enough lever, he could move the world.  So here goes...

A 4 ft. pipe adds the leverage I needed.  And I didn't even fall on my a$$ when the nut released.

All apart

New hub for comparison

Tomorrow I'll call the paint shop and get that started.  I think I'm all ready to start assembly when I get the frame back.  I'll let you know what the painter has to say tomorrow...

Move Over Paul Sr.

For those of you who don't have time to watch American Chopper (TLC), it's a show about a father and son who fight a lot and sometimes build cool motorcycles.  The dad is a tattooed, muscle-bound, hothead.

They do a lot of welding to build their bikes and that's what I got to do today to build my car!  It's very cool to stitch things together with liquid metal.  Everyone is welcome to come over and give it a try.

I got the parking brake moved (only a week later than I thought I'd have it done!).  Here are a couple of pictures.  Don't look too closely at the welds because they look a little like that Salvador Dali painting.  But after a total of 8 minutes of practice, I decided I was ready to do the real thing.  I actually was starting to get better the more I did.  The important thing is it's not going anywhere!

I really feel like I'm starting to make progress now.  With the parking brake out of the way, I started to test fit the pedals.

And guess what?  I have to do some more welding to get the pedals aligned (good thing I have that welder).

I really should be ready to get the frame painted this week.  And then I'm putting this car together!

PS:  I got an email from Diane in Florida (she's the one with the rear wheel spindles).  I still hadn't received them.  Her mechanic had a car race he was preparing for so he hasn't had time to remove the spindles from the old car yet.  She thinks he'll be able to do it Tuesday.  No word on Victor, but I guess no news is good news.

Roller Coaster Ride

This week just keep getting tougher and tougher.  At this time last week, I had expected to make a lot of progress by now.  As each day passed and nothing seemed to happen, I got more frustrated.  For one thing, I was waiting for parts I had ordered.  Like a little kid who knows a package is coming, every time a delivery truck went by, I looked out the window to see if it was stopping here (and we live on a busy street!). 

But the biggest issue was finding a welder to rent.  I thought it would be easy -- call up the local rental place, pick it up, sign many waivers without reading them and get the welder home.  A couple of quick practice welds (they make it look easy on TV, don't they) and I'd get my brackets welded in place.  After that fantasy began to evaporate (imagine the image getting wavy and me waking up from a dream), I realized that it may be a little tougher after all.  First, a welder uses a lot of electricity.  Where could I plug it in without blowing fuses, or worse?  Second, welding is not that easy.  There are many variables such as the amount of power applied for the electric arc, the rate of wire feed, the rate of movement across the metal, the distance the welder is held from the metal, the type of metal, the thickness of the metal, and the orientation of the metals being welded.  OK, I'm sure I can still figure all that out.  After all, there are a lot of not-so-smart welders out there.  I decide to spend a little time at one of my favorite information sources (after Rolling Stone) -- YouTube!  There I learn how to perfect my welding technique from the comfort of my kitchen table.  But I still don't have a welder...

By mid-week, I'm hitting bottom.  I'm watching yet another YouTube video on MIG welding and I see a video review of a $90 welder.  Huh?  I'm sure you'd all agree that a welder is an essential tool for the home, like a hammer or a screwdriver.  My optimism rose.  A couple of key clicks and I had a welder on the way.  Of course, that meant another delivery truck to look for.

On Friday morning, my clutch and brake assembly arrived and it looks good.  Online delivery tracking said the welder would be here on Friday also.  Well, around 4pm the truck pulls into the driveway and out comes a 50 lb. box.  It's like Christmas for someone going through mid-life crisis.  I couldn't wait to try it out.

So, I realized this project is going to be like a roller coaster with  many ups and downs.

And sometimes I'll feel like I'm upside down and completely disoriented ...

The Waiting Game

I haven't posted anything for a few days because I'm stuck waiting.  The biggest issue is that I still haven't been able to find a welder to rent/borrow.  I'm also waiting for my parts from Victor in FL.  I haven't heard from him since last week so I hope he's OK.

Here's what is supposed to happen when things start moving again:  weld brake brackets to frame, receive rear hubs from Victor, prep said hubs, bring frame and suspension parts to powder coating shop.  After that, I can start assembling and it should go quickly until I run out of parts again.

One small bit of progress -- I bought a brake and clutch pedal assembly on eBay for $75.

In the meantime, I probably will order a few more parts (I need to do a better job of inventory management) and work on the engine design.

Hopefully the next post will be soon and show some real progress.  Also, thanks for all the positive feedback on the blog.

Some Inspiration

This morning I went to the monthly Cobra owners breakfast.  Although the temperature was in the low 40's, five guys had their cars out on display -- all looking great!  Many of these guys have taken years to build their cars but a few have done it very quickly (ie, 6 months).  I was able to confirm some of my build decisions and to see how various parts look on these cars.  It's very helpful to talk to those who have done this before so I can avoid some of the pitfalls.  I got to talk about my engine plan, transmission, pedals, gear ratio, steering, fuel system, parking brake and a few other details.  One of the guys even offered me a spare fuel tank he has so that's one fewer things on my purchase list!

Here is a short video I took for some inspiration.

Good News and Bad News

How many times will I get to use this title?  I have a feeling there will be many occasions.  First the bad news, you remember that great deal I mentioned for the transmission?  Well, I guess they figured it was "too" great.  They called me and canceled the order saying the advertisement was a mistake.  That puts me back in the market for a transmission.  It's not that urgent right now, so I'll just keep looking and hopefully will find a good deal somewhere else.

Now the good news, I spent a few hours today finishing the fabrication of the new parking brake brackets.  I'm happy because I was able to reuse all the old bracket parts I cut off the frame.  I also finished grinding down all the residue on the frame where the brackets were originally mounted.  Next, all I need to do is find a welder, learn how to weld and attach the new brackets.  I hope to do all that tomorrow.

I know you're all dying to see what the new bracket looks like.

Sweet!

This is what it looked like in the old location

I almost forgot that my new friend Victor in Florida seems to be doing better.  We are negotiating the terms for an aluminum pumpkin.  I hope we can wrap it up in the next few days.

My goal for the coming week is to get the frame out to the painter.  Once it's back, I can start to attach the suspension.

Time to Get to Work

It's been 2 1/2 weeks since I got the frame and mostly it's just been sitting there.  I've test fit the parts I have and you may have noticed that the frame is just bare metal.  It will have to be painted before I can do any assembly work.  But before I paint it, there are a few things I have to do.  One of the main ones is moving the parking brake.

The frame has brackets to mount the parking brake next to the passenger's left leg.  In that position, the driver can't even reach it.  I'll be cutting off the brackets and moving them to a new location.  In the picture below, the metal plate in the foreground is where the passenger seat will go.  The driver's seat will be on the far plate.  You can see that the driver would have to reach around the center structure to reach the brake handle.

Here I am starting to cut off the old brackets.  Lots of sparks flying -- this is fun!

The blue thing on the frame is a template I made out of paper for new parts I'll have to make.  That's where the parking brake will go after it's moved.  It will require welding the brackets in the new location.  Good thing I had metal shop in 8th grade!!  After that, I'll put the frame back on the trailer and take it to the painter.

Find of the Century!

The rear suspension is designed to fit parts from a few different models of early 1990's Fords.  I'm trying to find these parts used because new replacement parts are so expensive.  For probably a month I've been looking for the rear spindles (the rear wheels bolt to them).  I knew I could buy them new but it would be about $1,000!  Every day I'd try a new angle -- junkyards, eBay, parts houses, etc. with no luck.  Then last week I found a website for early 1990's Ford Thunderbird enthusiasts.  This happens to be one of the models I can get parts from.  Why there are any Ford Thunderbird enthusiasts at all, I don't understand, but thankfully they exist.

1990 Ford Thunderbird

And right there on the used parts list were my spindles.  Amazingly, only $60!!!!  Someone down in FL was selling them so they'll have to be shipped up here (for another $40, but hey, it beats buying the new ones, right?).

Shortly after I agree to buy them, I get an email response, "Hello Ralph,

Sorry but we do not have these items ready for shipping. We must remove them from the parts car we have here.  If you cannot wait a couple of days...maybe a week, I will return your money in full. Sorry for the trouble, but we were not aware that we did not have these ready to go.

Thanks and let me know what you would like to do. Victor and Diane".  Of course, I let them know it's no problem.  Then I realize that since they seem to be taking apart the car, maybe they have another part I'm looking for -- the rear differential (a set of gears connected to the axle, also called a "pumpkin" by true gearheads).  

I send them an email with my request to see if they have the part.  The next day I get this response, "We do have several 8.8 pumpkins from parts cars 89-93. I am not sure if they are 3.55 ratio or not. My husband just had surgery and he is unable to help me with this question. I looked for tags but they do not all have them. Can you help me figure it out?  If you tell me what to do or look for, I am sure I can help you.  Diane"  I have to laugh because this women is still trying to help me after her husband had surgery.  I send best wishes to her husband and ask her to give me the serial numbers and send pictures when she can.

The next day, I get an email from Diane with serial numbers and pictures.  It includes this "I am missing one picture and if you need it, I can always get it in the morning. I have to cook dinner now! You see...a woman's work is never done.  Thanks and we should have those hubs out soon. I will keep you posted."  I look over the information and ask how much they're asking for each.  The next day she responds, "Hello Ralph, I have to take Victor to the doctors in about 30 minutes. I will take a picture of the third unit and identify the others. I should be back around 3pm. Thanks for your patience. Diane"  I don't know whether to assume Victor is getting better or not so I decide to leave them alone for a couple days.

Yesterday, I sent them a short message to remind them I'm still interested.  They responded with a few questions, to which I replied.  I'll have to let you know if I get my "pumpkin" from them and how Victor is doing. 

Decisions, Decisions

I had no idea how many decisions I'd have to make.  And I'm not even talking about simple decisions like what color to paint the car.  I constantly ask myself what do I want this car to be, how is it going to be used, how will it look, will this part work with that part.  I even have to do math to figure out fuel flow rates, gear ratios, steering geometry and more.  The engine design takes it to a whole new level.  Don't get me wrong, I love it.  I just wasn't expecting it.  I won't go into details, but it already seems like it takes me a week of research just to make one decision.  At this rate, my grandkids will have to finish the car.

But I am making progress.  I have the front end geometry figured out and have all the parts for that.  Of course, this doesn't include the actual steering itself, just how the front wheels are going to connect to the car.

I've been working on designing the rear end too (that's where the rear wheels attach to the car).  I decided to install independent rear suspension (which turns out to be a lot more complicated) to improve handling.  I'm still searching for those parts and I'll leave that for another post.

eBay is where it all started (remember the engine block?) and it continues to be a primary source of parts.  I'm getting deliveries almost every day.  So far, I picked up a parking brake handle (another post coming on this too) and front spindles.  I bought a few new parts too.  Overall, I'm trying to keep the costs down (a little) by spending time scouring around for parts and trying to buy just what I want/need.

Another big buy this week -- a new 5-speed manual transmission!  25% off and free shipping from CA.  Wa-hoo!

Just to give you an idea, here's what I'm currently in the market for and feel free to let me know if you have any of these parts laying around.

Front brakes, rear brakes, gas/brake/clutch pedals, steering linkage, gas tank, fuel pump.

Oh, I almost forgot that I found a plastic shield for the gas tank (on eBay) being sold by a guy in MA.  Rather than having him ship it, we're going to pick it up while we're up there for Thanksgiving.

It's been fun dealing with all the people selling their stuff.  Everyone has been so cooperative, but my new friends in Florida are over the top...

Time to Get Set Up

I plan on using one of our garage bays as the primary work area.  The frame will be on a dolly so I can roll it around as I work on it.  The body needs to be stored on supports so it doesn't warp or crack.  So before I can really start on the car, I have to put my woodworking skills to task.

Here I am building a stand for the body

 The body on the stand

I'm going to have to get all these parts organized too.

And the frame can't sit under that tarp forever...

Here is the frame on the dolly I made.  It's designed to support the entire weight of the finished car.

I decided to put the body up on stilts so it can be stored over the frame.  Everything is on wheels so I can move it around easily.

I got my parts organized too.

Here's everything in it's place.  I even built the rolling work table to the left in the picture.

Now I can get started on three parallel paths -- finding/fabricating parts, assembling the mechanical systems, and building the engine.  If it was only that easy...

The Big Day Arrives!

Actually, I hope this is the first of many "big" days with this project.  Laurie and I got started on the road around 7:30am with coffee and bagels, a map, David's truck and our "new" trailer in tow.  It would be about a 5 hour trip to the factory and we wouldn't be able to use the Garden State Parkway due to the size of the trailer.  That meant going over the George Washington Bridge instead.  No problem, I thought.  We were going to pickup some of the key pieces of this project and nothing would stand in the way.  We also couldn't use EZPass at the tolls since we had a trailer.  But it was early Saturday morning so we didn't expect much traffic.

The trip up there went smoothly.  Only one construction detour that added about 30 minutes to the trip.  We stopped about 45 minutes from the factory for fuel and lunch.  Everything looked good until we got to the factory building around 1:15pm.

There was no one there!  How could this be?  I confirmed that I would be there and they even called our home to confirm that we were on our way.  I got "the look" from Laurie, but she remained calm.  All I could think was having to do this all over again and the disappointment of traveling all the way home with an empty trailer.  We walked around the building and banged on doors, and tried convincing ourselves that everyone was out for lunch, but by 3pm, it looked hopeless.

I was going to other buildings to see if anyone had a way to get in touch with someone who worked at the shop.  Then Laurie found me and said that someone who worked there had come by.  By luck, a young women who worked at the factory came by to use the hose on the outside of the building to wash her car.  She made some calls and within a half hour, another guy showed up.  He opened the shop and told me that we could load the parts, but I would have to help since no one else was around.  Of course, I said!

The body was temporarily attached to the frame so the whole thing could be loaded together.  Here are the pictures...

The red one is mine (red is just undercoating)

 Parts (windshield, seats, etc)

 Here it comes!

 And it's loaded.  Thanks Nate!

Turns out, they close at 12pm on Saturday (but no one told me that).  We were so lucky to be able to complete the pickup.

I'll just throw this in.  Another car they're working on and it was featured on Horsepower TV a month ago.  (maybe a future project for me?)

Now for the ride home.  Good thing we had the truck to hold all those boxes and have to power to haul everything.  Because of the delay, it was dark before we knew it.  I noticed the left rear light wasn't working on the trailer.  Hope the police don't.  There was considerably more traffic on a Saturday night as we went over the GWB.  Since the trailer is designed to carry a car, it is much wider than a car.  That means it takes up the full lane.  So here we are in heavy traffic, going over the George Washington Bridge, at night, with a trailer that is wider than the lane we're in.  And I have my new car parts back there, too!  OK, I admit it -- I was STRESSED!!!

Besides making it home unscathed, the highlight was the three thumbs-up we got from other drivers on the drive home.  I'm so glad Laurie came with me, for the company and encouragement to do what we set out to do.

So here it is in our driveway.  Now what?